1897.] Botany. 617 
A New Beginner’s Botany.—In a neat little volume published 
by The Macmillan Company, Professor Setchell has given us his ideas 
of laboratory practice for beginners in botany. These successive vol- 
umes from the professors of Botany in the universities are interesting, 
since they show us what their authors think can be done in the sec- 
ondary schools under present conditions. They are thus contributions 
to the science of education, and ought to be judged accordingly. 
In this book Professor Setchell puts before us his plan of presenting 
elementary botany to beginners, resting it upon two general conclu- 
sions reached after experience “ with a number of classes of beginners 
both in the preparatory schools and the university ” as follows: 
“ Botany in the preparatory schools should be taught— 
“1. Asa science, to cultivate careful and accurate observation, to- 
gether with the faculty of making from observations the proper infer- 
ences; an 
“2. As a means of leading the mind of the student to interest itself 
in the phenomena of nature for its own further development and 
profit.” 
These are certainly sound principles, and we may welcome the book 
as the author’sexposition of them. Upon opening it at page 1, we find 
that the pupil is directed to “ take a ripened pod of a Bean Plant, and 
splitting it open, notice: 
“1. That the seeds (Beans) are attached along one edge of each valve 
(or half) of the pod. 
“2. That each bean is attached to the pod by a short stalk, the fun- 
teulus 
“g, Make a sketch of a valve of the pona pod with its enclosed 
beans, representing and labelling the 
In this way the separate beans are taken up and their details worked 
out until the pupil has a knowledge of the pod, valves seeds, funiculus, 
hilum, strophiole, seed-coats, raphe, micropyle, chalaza, embryo, coty- 
ledons, caulicle, plumule, ete. Peas, Castor-beans, Morning-glory 
seeds, Indian Corn, Onion seeds, and seeds of Pifion Pine are to be 
taken in succession and studied in like manner. Then seedlings are 
studied, followed by roots, stems, leaves, (including phyllotaxy) and 
buds. Next follow chapters on protection,(thorns, spines, hairs, bitter 
or acid juice), storage (in roots, bulbs, leaves, etc.), climbing plants, 
epiphytes, parasites, saprophytes and insectivorous plants, in which the 
pupil is made acquainted with these various subjects by a labor- 
atory study of fresh examples. Thus the author leads the pupil on 
through the structure of flowering plants, always by means of actual 
examples, 
43 
